MUSICIAN ON MISSION FOR YOUTH PROGRAM
Toronto-based Katz aims to raise $1M for Alberta's FACES camp
Back in 2013, singer-songwriter Peter Katz found himself in a surreal situation at the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod.
It was the sort of surreal experience that most singer-songwriters would love to have, but that didn't make it any less baffling. The Toronto-based performer had never been to Fort Macleod before. At that point, he had not enjoyed the radio success that would come later. Nevertheless, he sold out the 300-seat historic theatre. Not only that, the audience seemed strangely familiar with his songs.
“I walked out on stage and the place was packed and they were screaming my name and knew all my songs,” says Katz. “It was like that Searching for Sugarman movie: Someone has made a lot of money off of me and I don't know how!”
It turns out, Katz's songs had been used as part of the curriculum of the Alberta-based FACES (Facilitating Awareness and Character building Experiences for Students) program, which operates with the support of the Livingstone Range School Division. His songs had become popular among the program's young participants, many of whom attended the show in Fort Macleod that night. Two of the program's directors, Matt Bullock and Dave Orr, had been fans of Katz's music and had seen him perform several times in Lethbridge, where they had been impressed by his storytelling skills and between-song banter. They even contacted his manager at one point to see if Katz would come work for the program. His manager politely declined, saying “Peter is not a camp counsellor.”
Undeterred, they organized a concert at the Empress Theatre in an elaborate attempt to recruit him.
“They had an instinct that I would be a good fit there,” Katz says. “They organized this concert to show me and tell me what they were all about. Obviously, I just fell in love with what they were doing. I went out there and ended up having the greatest 12 days of my life up to that point. It's become a huge part of my life.”
It was the beginning of Katz's long relationship with FACES. He does get to play music as part of the program, but that's only part of his role. Ever since 2013, the Juno-nominated musician has put his career on hold for parts of the summer to lead Alberta teens on rock-climbing, whitewater canoeing and hiking excursions. Founded in 2000, the program now invites hundreds of students each summer to engage in various character-building activities. In the past three years, the program has expanded from its southern Alberta base and now includes kids from Calgary, Red Deer and other areas in sessions based out of Nordegg.
But, as with everything else, organizers were forced to cancel sessions for the summer of 2020 due to COVID-19. The cancellation, coupled with general uncertainty about education funding in Alberta, became a stark reminder to Katz that the program is vulnerable. In the past few years, his music career has been on the rise as has his role as a professional speaker delivering “keynote concerts” for businesses and corporations. So he is now using his platform to raise $1 million to build a permanent Alberta home for the FACES program.
“I'm on a mission to protect it and ensure its long-term viability,” he says. “Because (participants) are
I've had kids who were my students in 2013 and were my staff in 2019.
You see the life-changing impact that it has on them. It's not just a blip on the radar.
earning credits, it is a publicly funded program and therefore it's vulnerable to all that entails. Over the years, we have built it up. In 2019, we ran 10 sessions and put nearly 500 kids through the program. I've had kids who were my students in 2013 and were my staff in 2019. You see the life-changing impact that it has on them. It's not just a blip on the radar. You see them two, three, four, five, six, seven years later and they still reference that moment in their life as a pivotal moment. One of the most heartbreaking things for me with COVID and the program being cancelled was all the kids we weren't going to be able to get to. So I'm on a mission to use my platform to get them a permanent home and a trust set up so, no matter what happens, we can run this program.”
COVID-19 notwithstanding, it's
actually a pretty good time for the performer to be using his public platform. He released City of Our Lives earlier this month, his first album of new material in five years. Known primarily as a folkie up until now, Katz reinvented himself musically on the release with a layered, progressive-pop sound. Part of his desire to reinvent himself sprang from turmoil in his private life. When leading teens on a rock-climbing excursion at Crowsnest Pass in the summer of 2017, Katz fell and broke a bone in his ankle. He says the fall was 100 per cent his fault, stressing that FACES makes the safety of its young participants its top priority and has strict protocols in place.
“It was my bad and no kid would have ever been in the situation I was in. In fact, I was so concerned
about the kids and their safety that I kind of forgot about my own.”
The fall had a devastating impact on Katz. Although it went undetected at first, he had broken the talus bone in his ankle. In the following months, the prognosis from doctors became increasingly grim. At one point, he was told he may never walk again. But he underwent successful surgery and was back leading sessions at FACES by the next summer. It wasn't the only incident that fuelled his life and career reboot. He also got divorced and lost his house. It all led to him baring his soul on new material. It was also a reminder of the need to protect the elements in his life that were most important to him, he says. In those dark days when it was unclear if his injured ankle would recover, the prospect
of being unable to continue leading FACES sessions was devastating.
“I love being in nature and I love sharing that with young people,” he says. “These kids show up on the first day and they've got their hoodies up and sunglasses on and they are not interacting. Not all of them, but some of them are quite guarded. You just let them know, consistently, that they are in a safe place and that we are going to be doing some great things. They start doing the activities and slowly but surely the hoodie comes down, the glasses come off and a smile comes to their faces.”
Physical copies of City of Our Lives are available in stores. It will be available digitally on Nov. 25. For more information or to contribute to FACES, visit lrsd. ca/faces.